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Justice & Inclusion

Social Justice - NEW

We have a legacy of “deeds not creeds.” Our work for a better world calls us to unexpected places as we harness love’s power to stop oppression. From grassroots community organizing to interfaith state, national, and corporate advocacy; in protest marches, prayer vigils, and press conferences; in homeless shelters and in prisons, Unitarian Universalists put our faith into action.

Our justice efforts are grounded in our congregationally-driven social justice statements and our call to break down divisions, heal isolation, and honor the interconnectedness of all life and all justice issues. We model these commitments by creating just, welcoming, and inclusive congregations. We act in partnership with groups and communities most impacted by injustice on local, state, national, and international levels.

Our ministry includes service, education, advocacy, and public witness (the spiritual practice of taking a public position in support of justice). Our Standing on the Side of Love campaign harnesses the power of love to end oppression. Our UU College of Social Justice provides experiential learning opportunities to deepen the work of justice for people of all ages. Our work is led by our denominational staff, congregational leaders, and a wide variety of coalition partners and UU groups focused on justice and identity.

The escalation of economic inequality undergirds a thousand injustices, from climate change to homelessness, from mass incarceration to low-wage worker exploitation. Economic inequality also disproportionately impacts people of color. We work for justice, equity, and compassion in our relationships and systemic change in our society.

All life is interconnected. Creating a sustainable way of life is central to our view of a just and compassionate world. We act knowing that those who are most impacted by environmental destruction are often with the least power.

We stand on the side of love with all families, regardless of citizenship status, and strive to create welcoming communities and congregations. We advocate for immigration reform, for an end to detentions and deportations, and for a world where no one feels forced to leave home or risk death in pursuit of a decent life for their family.

Each of us has worth and dignity, and that worth includes our gender and our sexuality. As Unitarian Universalists (UUs), we not only open our doors to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, we value diversity of sexuality and gender and see it as a spiritual gift. We create inclusive religious communities and work for LGBTQ justice and equity as a core part of who we are. All of who you are is sacred. All of who you are is welcome.

Every person has value as a member of the human family. The suffering caused by racism must be ended if we want to create fair and loving communities. We work to end racial discrimination and injustice, starting within ourselves and moving out into the world around us. We support multiracial, multiethnic congregations and advocate for stopping racist policies like mass imprisonment and attacks on voting rights. Our multicultural ministries will continue until there is peace, liberty, and justice for all.

Decisions about children, families and sexuality are some of life’s most profound. We advocate not only for the freedom of those choices in each person’s life journey, but also for the ability of all families and communities to realize a sense of wholeness with regard to their sexual and reproductive lives. We create safe and healthy environments for children in our faith communities and campaign publicly for just and compassionate laws for family planning, reproductive health, and gender equality.

One of the fundamental principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is the use of the democratic process. As an expression of our faith, many Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations engage in voter registration and protecting voting rights, not for partisan reasons, but to empower all eligible people to contribute their voices to the democratic process. Defending the freedom to vote has been central to the work of the UUA and at the core of Unitarian Universalism for decades.